What comes after Google Glass? It was at CES, just in pieces

LAS VEGAS — Smartwatches were the wearable darling of CES 2015, but they're easy to create. Start with fitness tracking, throw in some notifications, maybe even park your car with them, and you've got the latest buzzworthy product.

Smart glasses are much harder. Bringing information directly to a person's eye has the potential to reduce the friction between humans and technology more than any other wearable, but they need to walk a difficult tightrope between convenience and intrusion. And to have any hope with consumers, smart glasses can't look like something only the characters from The Big Bang Theory would wear.

Informed by two years of experience with Google Glass, at least the category is now clearer, and most models fall into one of two buckets: First, there are those that deliver Glass-like experiences where a screen floats above one eye, providing notifications and other glanceable information to the wearer.

Then there are models that use dual screens over each eye to create a virtual screen overlaying the real world. The information onscreen can either provide information about what's in the field of view, or immerse the user within something else entirely. This is augmented reality.

Both types of smart glasses were at CES. But can either one capture a mainstream audience?

"Definitely," according to Epson president Minoru Usui, whose company makes the Moverio smart glasses. "The reason we wear [normal] glasses is to see things we can't see with the naked eye. In the same way, the purpose of smart glasses is to see information you couldn't otherwise see. The demand for smart glasses will increase dramatically over the next few years."

Sony showed the clearest — and most promising — Google Glass competitor in its SmartEyeglass Attach, a small display that you can clip onto a regular pair of sunglasses.

The Sony SmartEyeGlass Attach, still a concept at this point, is a tiny connected display that attaches to any pair of glasses.

Image: Mashable, Christina Ascani

I tried out the Attach, and although I was only able to use it in demo mode, I came away impressed. Because the screen is a tiny OLED display and not a projected image like that of Glass, the information appears completely clear, and it doesn't obstruct your vision since it's in your blind spot, anyway: You might glance at it to see, say, the speed of your golf swing, but it disappears when you look away.

The Attach is a great idea, and when it was clipped onto a pair of minimalist spectacles, I'd daresay Sony's gadget even looked pretty good — except for that Borg implant growing out of the side of my head.

We've all seen how such a design has worked for Glass, so Sony's product has little chance to go mainstream. But as a visual aide for specific situations? It's as good as Glass — if not better.

Then there are the augmented-reality glasses, such as ODG's digital specs. As I wore them, watching various virtual people throw fruit at me in a 3D demo reel, Nima Shams, the company's vice-president of headworn devices, proudly pointed out that the glasses run full Android and can create a tablet experience that floats in front of your face.

Um, great? In all seriousness, being able to operate a "tablet" hands-free has clear advantages, but using a pair of augmented-reality glasses as a tablet or smartphone replacement often feels like a solution in search of a problem. Is anyone really clamoring for this?

In addition, that's only one use case for AR. It isn't really meant for watching YouTube on a virtual screen — it's about calling up information and imagery that's relevant to what you're looking at. Feeling hungry while walking near a Shake Shack? Smart glasses should be able to direct you with arrows, show you a menu and let you call in your order.

"Because of the conversations that Google Glass and Oculus [VR] started, you have all these talented app developers that want to develop for this new media, this platform," Shams said. "It's familiar in that it's Android, it's apps, but it's different in that it's see-through. It sparks the imagination."

The preproduction model that ODG showed me seemed more than capable of doing all that, provided the app support arrives, though the hardware is still a little clunky. The projectors and optics add some heft, and although it's less weird-looking than Google Glass, it's hard to imagine anyone wearing them all — or even most — of the time.

To capture a mainstream audience, smart glasses need to be compact and stylish enough that they feel just like a regular pair of glasses. The technology needs to disappear. The closest thing I saw at CES that fits that bill is Vuzix's waveguide technology (similar to fiber optics), which creates images on lenses — no "prisms" or weird outgrowths from your temple. That way, the frames look normal, and the lenses stay transparent.

Vuzix's consumer model hadn't been perfected in time for the show, but I did see a working pair of prototype lenses, as well as the frames in which the company intends to build them. They looked just like something Bono would wear if Vuzix can put them together, which is likely, now that Intel has invested $25 million in the company.

"What Google was trying to do, Vuzix is going to do," company CEO Paul Travers said. "Once people start using these guys, they won't go back to their phones."

Vuzix intends to build its latest waveguide tech (left), which can overlay a high-res screen on transparent lenses into a pair of compact frames (right).

Image: Mashable, Christina Ascani

While we wait for the promises of CES to become real (if ever), Google Glass will have an opening to recapture the spotlight. Soon, we'll probably see the first Glass designs from the deal that the company made with Ray-Ban maker Luxottica. Unless those get rid of that silly computer hanging off the side, however, they won't likely change the conversation.

TL;DR: For all the promise on display at CES, consumer smart glasses aren't really here, yet. But there's reason to believe the wait won't be much longer. In the meantime, we'll have to settle for getting notifications on our wrists.

BONUS: Google Glass: Don't Be A Glasshole

Mashable's Top Picks of CES 2015

For all of Samsung's love of curved TVs, they're kind of silly. Not so curved monitors, though: We were in love with Samsung's SE790C Curved Monitor from the moment we laid on its sleek contours. It has a 21:9 ultra-wide aspect ratio, which makes it almost as wide as two old-school 4:3 monitors side by side. The curve is relatively tight at 3000R (meaning the radius of the curve is 3,000mm), but for a monitor — which will typically be just a couple of feet from your face — that makes perfect sense, especially for such a large screen. This baby can transform your workspace into a lair.

Until now, almost all streaming TV had only been available to customers with a cable subscription. Now, cord cutters will be able to subscribe to Dish Network's Sling TV without paying for cable. The service offers customers a batch of channels for $20 a month. The killer feature: It includes ESPN — an important channel for its live and exclusive sports content, though the service can be streamed to only one device at a time. Sling TV will be available to U.S. customers in the first quarter of 2015 -- just in time for baseball season.

You'd better be ready to get extreme with Garmin's fenix 3 watch. It offers training assistance for sports, such as snowboarding, hiking and skiing. What's more, the watch can endure tough environments. Did we mention it's beautiful? The sleek design epitomizes a sturdy, high-end timepiece. It can also connect to your phone to relay call, text and email notifications to your wrist. The fenix 3 comes in three colors with a base price of $499. A sapphire version costs $100 more. We warned you about getting extreme.

Yep, even action cams have gone 4K. Sony's first 4K-ready action camera, the FDR-X1000V, allows users to record point-of-view shots at glorious Ultra HD resolution (3,840 x 2,160). The camera goes on sale in March for $500 and comes with a new way to reduce wind noise to that maintains high sound even when shredding down a hill. It's also water resistant to protect against splashes, drops in the snow or submersion while hunting sharks. The camera includes Sony's Steady Shot feature, which stabilizes videos, though this feature only works when shooting in HD, not in 4K.

Everyone thinks electric vehicles are a good idea, but who likes waiting hours for a recharge? Energy startup Gogoro aims to solve this problem by creating a system that allows people to quickly swap their electric vehicles' batteries rather than waiting around to juice up. It's starting with an electric battery-powered scooter and a battery network that places recharging stations around cities. Buying a smart scooter gets you a subscription to the battery service. The accompanying app keeps tabs on your scooter and points you to the nearest battery station when you're running low. It's like Citibike, but with bikes that go 60 mph.

It actually debuted at last year's show, but Sony's Life Space UX gets a big upgrade at CES 2015. It goes way beyond Internet-connected power outlets: With its elegant LED-bulb speakers, video projectors that turn walls into screens, and interactive tabletop, the new Life Space UX is one of the most attractive smart home demos we've seen. It's a little nebulous at this point how all the individual components will work together, but people won't buy into the smart home concept until they can look at the products and ideas and think, "I want that." Sony's minimalist system certainly qualifies.

It's common to loosen your belt buckle a little after a big meal. But a new product called the Belty takes that task out of your hands. This sensor-equipped smart belt automatically adjusts itself throughout the day, depending on how much you've eaten and how much exercise you've done to compensate. It connects with an app that charts the data it collects throughout the day, sending feedback to the motors, which expand and retract in response. The prototype is based of clunky metal, but the company, Emiota, says it aims to make Belty a "high-end product." We can't wait to pair it with our Guccis.

Samsung's latest washing machine has a genius addition: a built-in sink. Dubbed the Active Wash, the top-loading washing machine includes a built-in sink for washing delicates or doing pre-treatment. The problem is that many laundry rooms don't have a sink. Even better, the Active Wash's sink comes with its own water jet. Once you're done washing, you can pour the water into the machine to drain. The idea more than makes sense -- it's how it should be. Why hasn't someone thought of this before now?

Mercedes-Benz is jumping into self-driving cars with its latest "autonomous" vehicle, the F 015 Luxury in Motion "visionary concept" car. Mercedes looks forward to a world after 2030, when cars will be "exclusive cocoons," a new kind of mobile living space. The F 015 has bizarre proportions and large LED lights on the front and back, which it uses to communicate with other cars. It's equipped with four rotating chairs that allow the passengers to sit face-to-face and the windows can be used as display screens. The future is driverless, and it looks pretty hot.

CES is all about progress, and Sharp's latest TV is the progress poster child for TVs at CES 2015. On the spec sheet, Sharp's set is a 4K TV. But there's some pixel magic going on here: The TV has a total of 66 million subpixels — 42 million more than a normal 4K TV, and all of those subpixels can be individually controlled. Sharp's clever TV can allow pixels to "borrow" subpixels from their neighbors, increasing the overall sharpness, also called pixel splitting. The result is a display with an effective resolution of 7,680 x 4,320, which is — you guessed it — 8K. Technically it's not actual 8K, which is why Sharp avoids the term, but the company does claim the set is the highest-resolution 4K UHD TV you can buy.

If the skateboard and Segway had a strange, high-tech love child, it would be the IO Hawk. It's as weird and wonderful as it sounds. Built by the company with the same name, the IO Hawk is a self-balancing motorized personal transporter. Similar to the Segway (but minus the handle bars), the product is powered by batteries, motors and uses slight pressure from your feet to guide it where you want it to go. When you shift your balance, the device responds and moves in that direction. It weighs 22 pounds and can travel up to 6 mph.

A heating vent might not be the sexiest home accessory to get "smart," but a new high-tech option lets you control each room individually. In most cases, a home's thermostat (smart or otherwise) controls the heating and cooling systems in a one-size-fits all way. The Keen Home smart vent keeps you from wasting energy—and money—on areas of your house that don't need as much attention. Installing the Keen on a few strategic vents throughout a house could lead to big savings. Sounds smart to us.

Delphi showed off its self-driving car system at CES. Hidden under the fenders and strategically positioned on the dash and roof of an Audi SUV were 20 sensors, including 360-degree LIDARs, radars, high-accuracy GPS, collision detection and more -- all powered by an Nvidia Tegra K1 running Ottomatika’s automated driving software. Throughout the ride, the car’s dashboard screen showed it constantly analyzing its surroundings. It knew where it had to go, the rules of the road and what other cars were doing all around it. It made smooth lane changes and wide left turns. It stopped for traffic and traffic lights. Driverless cars are real, they’re here and, if they get a license, can really drive themselves.

It looks like a rather tall and not very interesting flower container, but Parrot's device — simply-named Pot — may be just what your plants crave. This Bluetooth flower pot can tell when your plant is thirsty and then water it for you. Standing roughly a foot tall, the tall white pot has built-in sensors that can read the level of fertilization, temperature and level of moisture in the soil and notify you when the plan needs water. When the Pot arrives later this year, your neighbors will be forever grateful.

Bang & Olufsen has brought forward some real innovation in the interface of the BeoSound Moment: a music player with a capacitive touch wheel that's built into a real wood surface. When you use it for the first time, the effect is a little like magic. You can plug in your own iPhone or music player, or stream, via Bluetooth, from any number of services, including Spotify, Deezer or YouTube. The interface also offers something called a MoodWheel, a color wheel where the colors correspond to the mood of the music you want to play. The entire set-up is designed to play more toward your intuitive music listening instincts rather than forcing you to spend time learning yet another complicated interface: the sweet spot for high-end audio matched with simplicity.

Thinness and minimalism are always prized in tablets, and Dell has really delivered with the Venue 8 7000: It's just 6mm thin or 0.24 of an inch -- just a hair thinner than the famously skinny iPad Air 2. The rear camera does much more than snap fancy pictures; it can record detailed 3D information, letting you scan objects -- even faces -- to create models that you can then import into other software (like games) or re-imagine in the real world via 3D printing. The tablet market may not be growing like it used to be, but as Dell's impressive tablet shows, the category is hardly stagnating.

Whirlpool put together an innovative "kitchen of the future" concept where countertops act like touchscreens. You'll be able to put a pot or skillet anywhere on the surface, which will detect it and start heating up. It integrates with video conferencing (like when you need to ask mom about a recipe) and can show alerts from your networks, too. There's more: The kitchen will recommend recipes based on ingredients you already have thanks to "smart vessels": food containers that keep track of the freshness and weight of what's inside them. One extra for dinner? The stovetop can connect to your smartphone calendar to automatically update the recipe so you'll cook enough for everyone.

Your next smartphone could recharge in less than two minutes. That's the promise of StoreDot's ultra-fast battery charger, which is in prototype form but moving much closer to reality. Before our eyes, a phone fitted with a special battery went from almost empty to 100% in about the same amount of time it takes to brush your teeth. The company says it took a completely different approach to building a battery: Rather than trying to improve capacity, it redesigned the internal structure. The tradeoff: The overall battery life is shorter -- the company says the smartphone battery it built lasts only about five hours. But you've got to start somewhere.

After raising almost $600,000 on Kickstarter, Zuta Labs is ready to start production of its extremely mobile printer. About the size of a large coffee cup, the $199 device actually moves itself around a piece of paper to print. The 4-inch-wide printer is aimed at users who often need to print documents in places where printer access — think a coffee shop or at a hotel — is sometimes hard to come by. The fact that it also works with smartphones and tablets is a big deal, too.

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